Revised Common Lectionary

Please note that two distinct lectionaries are provided on this page: the two-year Daily Lectionary from the Book of Common Worship and the three-year Revised Common Lectionary (RCL) for Sundays and festivals; be sure you select the appropriate one.

Revised Common Lectionary Readings for Sunday, November 25, 2018, Christ the King (Reign of Christ) Sunday (Year B)

1Now these are the last
words of David: The oracle of David, son of Jesse, the
oracle of the man whom God exalted, the anointed of the
God of Jacob, the favorite of the Strong One of Israel:
2The spirit of the LORD
speaks through me, his word is upon my tongue.
3The God of Israel has
spoken, the Rock of Israel has said to me: One who rules
over people justly, ruling in the fear of God,
4is like the light of
morning, like the sun rising on a cloudless morning,
gleaming from the rain on the grassy land.

5Is not my house like
this with God? For he has made with me an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things and secure. Will he not
cause to prosper all my help and my desire? 6But the godless are all like
thorns that are thrown away; for they cannot be picked up
with the hand; 7to
touch them one uses an iron bar or the shaft of a spear.
And they are entirely consumed in fire on the spot.

Psalm 132:1-12 (13-18)

1O LORD, remember in David's favor

all the hardships he endured;

2how he swore to the
LORD

and vowed to the Mighty One of Jacob,

3"I will not enter
my house

or get into my bed;

4I will not give sleep
to my eyes

or slumber to my eyelids,

5until I find a place
for the LORD,

a dwelling-place for the Mighty One of Jacob."

6We heard of it in
Ephrathah;

we found it in the fields of Jaar.

7"Let us go to his
dwelling-place;

let us worship at his footstool."

8Rise up, O LORD, and
go to your resting-place,

you and the ark of your might.

9Let your priests be
clothed with righteousness,

and let your faithful shout for joy.

10For your servant
David's sake

do not turn away the face of your anointed one.

11The LORD swore to
David a sure oath

from which he will not turn back:

"One of the sons of your body

I will set on your throne.

12If your sons keep my
covenant

and my decrees that I shall teach them,

their sons also, for evermore,

shall sit on your throne."

13For the LORD has
chosen Zion;

he has desired it for his habitation:

14"This is my
resting-place for ever;

here I will reside, for I have desired it.

15I will abundantly
bless its provisions;

I will satisfy its poor with bread.

16Its priests I will
clothe with salvation,

and its faithful will shout for joy.

17There I will cause a
horn to sprout up for David;

I have prepared a lamp for my anointed one.

18His enemies I will
clothe with disgrace,

but on him, his crown will gleam."

Second Reading Revelation 1:4b-8

4bGrace to you and
peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and
from the seven spirits who are before his throne,
5and from Jesus Christ,
the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the
ruler of the kings of the earth.

To him who loves us and freed us from our sins by his
blood, 6and made us to
be a kingdom, priests serving his God and Father, to him
be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

7Look! He is coming
with the clouds; every eye will see him, even those who
pierced him; and on his account all the tribes of the
earth will wail. So it is to be. Amen.

8"I am the Alpha
and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who
was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Gospel John 18:33-37

33Then Pilate entered
the headquarters again, summoned Jesus, and asked him,
"Are you the King of the Jews?" 34Jesus answered, "Do you ask
this on your own, or did others tell you about me?"
35Pilate replied,
"I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief
priests have handed you over to me. What have you
done?" 36Jesus
answered, "My kingdom is not from this world. If my
kingdom were from this world, my followers would be
fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews.
But as it is, my kingdom is not from here."
37Pilate asked him,
"So you are a king?" Jesus answered, "You
say that I am a king. For this I was born, and for this I
came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone
who belongs to the truth listens to my voice."